Never Gonna Give You Up Chapter 9

Hina was right in assuming that Elf-blood made for potent ink. She'd pricked Legolas's finger to test one tag just outside the walls and it had made a particularly beautiful explosion. Said Elf wasn't eager to take part in 'blood magic' as he put it, but Hina rolled her eyes at his suspicion.

"Legolas-san, your faith in me is astounding! You know there is no dark magic in my lands. No light magic either mind you. It's not even magic if I'm getting technical… Anyway, the point remains that it's not dark magic. There's no cost to your soul or anything. Elves just happen to have a good deal of natural chakra in their blood," she explained patiently.

"Wouldn't you have chakra too?" he asked.

"I would, but I've never had large pools to begin with, so my seals were always weak, and my cursed seal isn't making it any better. Seals don't need blood, but it's easier to give blood than it is to mould chakra into it to create it. I don't want to use my chakra just yet. I only need a cup's worth. Come on, think of the lives you'll save."

"Ok… I trust in your judgement," he finally relented.

Hina felt her hands cramp up but continued anyway. She had explained her plans to the King who saw no reason to say no to her. He had everything to gain in this scenario and it wasn't like Hina could contribute to preparation when she hardly knew how logistics and weaponry preparation worked in this world. So she had taken a seat in the great Hall and made the corner of one of the long dining tables hers for her own preparation. They didn't have as much paper as she'd hoped for, but she had quite a lot sealed away from the Elves too and now felt as good as any time to begin.

She mixed Legolas's blood in with her ink and began the careful process of printing perfect seals onto tags as small as she could go. Their size didn't matter as much as the quality did, but good strokes demanded a decent size for the paper. Also if she wanted to make it mud and waterproof, she had to put in a bit more thought into the structural sequence she inscribed. Soon she had a whole 5 stacks besides her.

She thought that they were very lucky to have such a wonderful, awesome, smart, and beautiful ally such as her by their side. While explosive tags were easy to make, the specific brand of explosive tag she was creating was not. A normal explosive tag with a few months could be learnt by most people with an above average IQ, however just like anything there was the basics and then there was the advanced version. What she was making could be considered rather overpowered. Most explosive tags worked by activating it on contact, and so it could only be used one at a time like a thrown bomb. Hers were much more superior than that. It was a trigger tag, akin to a chain bomb one could activate with a trigger. Binding a trigger so far away from another seal was indeed advanced. She needed to make the seals explode while she was a good 700 meters away from them. That was no easy task, and neither was it easy to bind one trigger to multiple tags. So to split the stacks she made one trigger seal for about 30 explosive tags.

No one had disturbed her until Éowyn decided to. But it was a welcome distraction with food.

"I made some stew," she said gently, coaxing Hina out of her trance-like state. "If you are to go into battle it should not be on an empty stomach."

"Arigato Éowyn-san," she replied, mind still only halfway into reality. Then she realised she hadn't called Éowyn by her proper title and backtracked. "Ah gomen—I mean sorry. Lady Éowyn, you caught me distracted."

"It's not an issue. I hear you address everyone with 'san'. What does it mean in your language?"

"Closest thing in Westron would mean 'Mr' or 'Mrs'... but it is a suffix used in respect usually for older folk," Hina explained with a contemplative look.

"Ah, no gender differentiation. Your culture is fascinating."

"Oh there is a gender differentiation for less formal greetings such as 'chan' for girls and 'kun' for boys. Anyway, thanks for the meal!"

"It's my pleasure. Although I admit, I came to ask what all this paper and writing is for?"

"It's called Fuinjutsu where I'm from. It's the art of sealing… or I guess for you runes. Right now I am sealing energy into this paper and later when I activate it you can expect some explosions."

"Amazing. If we weren't so cut short on time I would have asked for some lessons," Éowyn replied in apt interest.

Hina laughed and nodded, although she doubted she'd ever have the time to sit down and teach anyone such a time-consuming art like Fuinjutsu, especially someone who didn't even know her Kanji system and whatever level of basic maths was taught here.

"Although you make me wonder, Hina-san," Éowyn began. "What our world has come to that boys and girls should go to battle, and where we women would sit back and resort to prayers."

"I have no doubt Aragorn is thinking of ordering me to stay back from the action, but I don't have any masters in this world. No one can hold me back here," Hina replied with a naughty grin.

"You would disobey his wishes?"

"I'd rather die than lose one of my comrades again," she replied with a stony expression. "I know it may seem dangerous for someone young like me to run into battle, but I assure you Lady Éowyn, that you have not seen me fight."

The Lady didn't seem all that sold either way. Hina supposed it made sense. Sending young teenagers out into battle wasn't something these people did lightly. She was around the age back in the Elemental Nations where people would not blink an eye to her going out to fight. She was fourteen now and while that was still at the young end, everyone usually started their careers around twelve. Child labour aside, she would have been treated like any other solider, but here it was not the case. Fourteen was still too young for battle, and she supposed the standard age for war here was around seventeen or eighteen at youngest. But Helm's Deep was in a tight spot and she'd seen some teenage boys getting prepared for battle.

"I suppose I will have to trust Aragorn's judgement," she relented.

Hina had seen the way Éowyn looked at Aragorn. She felt a little sympathetic towards the woman. Aragorn had a hot Elf woman back home who Hina knew in her heart wouldn't travel to the undying lands. Love had a way of doing that to people—forcing them from making the illogical choice. Hina knew she would die for her family and friends, and when it came to them her thoughts seemed less rational and more irrational.

"I've kept you from your meal. Do eat it before it becomes cold."

Hina nodded and watched as the Lady left her. She turned to the soup and ate a bite before nearly spitting it out. She hadn't looked down at it before, but she regretted it when she did. Was Éowyn trying to poison her or was she just that terrible at cooking? She was about to put it away when Éowyn turned to smile at her and Hina took another spoonful into her mouth for show. She quickly spat it back into the plate before discreetly putting it behind her chair on the floor. She'd rather starve.

"Well time to get back to work," she mumbled as she cracked her wrists.

There was something just very relaxing about digging holes, Hina decided. If all else failed in her life she'd retire as a gravedigger and live out the rest of her life in a cemetery somewhere… well that was definitely an option for retirement… if she made it long enough to retire at all.

"I feel like a farmer," Boromir huffed.

"Don't complain when you volunteered to come out here," Hina replied, rolling her eyes.

"To keep you out of trouble… not to dig holes," Boromir retorted despite continuing his digging.

"Come on we only have about… hmm 500 meters worth left," she chuckled.

Then they got about digging more holes and putting the tags in the ground in even intervals. They'd started a bit further down and then placed the other line closer to the walls. Hina supposed that blowing up the middle of the ranks would make it harder for those in the back to know if other explosions would happen and keep them on edge. She almost couldn't wait to see the fireworks of blood and limbs even though the sane part of her mind berated her for enjoying such a bloodbath.

Eventually they finished their work and made their way back to the walls. Hina and Boromir made their way to the armoury.

"Some chainmail would do you good," Boromir noted.

"I like to fight lightly armoured, or it would hinder my speed," Hina refused politely.

"I still do not like that you go in those light clothes of yours," Boromir frowned.

"I have the armour I wear now, and it is all I need," she cut him off with a frown.

She entered the armoury to find boys about her age grabbing swords too. Old men as well and people she thought looked way too scrawny and confused to be effective out there in battle against an army bred for the sole purpose of war. Was this a losing battle?

"How go the traps?" Aragorn asked.

"All ready and prepped," Hina replied, raising up a little proudly at her work.

If she had a week to prepare, she could have done so much more, although she would have probably died from chakra exhaustion too. Still it almost felt impossible to do anything against such a large force. Apparently looking around Boromir had the same idea about what he saw that she did.

"These are not warriors," he said worriedly.

"Farmer, farriers, stable boys. These are no soldiers," Aragorn agreed.

"Most have seen too many winters," Gimli said, shaking his head.

"Or too few. Look at them. They're frightened. I can see it in their eyes." Legolas added with the most worried look Hina had ever seen on him before he turned to Aragorn. "Boe a hûn: neled herain dan caer menig! (And they should be... Three hundred against ten thousand!)"

"Si beriathar hýn. Amar nâ ned Edoras. (They have more hope of defending themselves here than at Edoras)," Aragorn retorted.

"Aragorn, men indagor. Hýn úortheri. Natha daged aen! (Aragorn, we are warriors. They cannot win this fight. They are all going to die!)"

"Then I shall die as one of them!" Aragorn snapped angrily.

Hina didn't need to understand Sindarin to know exactly what Legolas had argued with Aragorn for. This was a losing battle no matter how anyone looked at it. Before the Elf could go after Aragorn, Hina held him back and shook her head. When you were as frustrated as Legolas was, it was best not to add that frustration onto someone else's shoulder too.

"Let him go, lad. Let him be," Gimli says in agreement to Hina's silent refusal to let Legolas go.

"Just a reminder," Hina began catching everyone's attention, "that our White Wizard isn't on a vacation right now. I'm sure he'll be back to help us somehow win this war."

"A good reminder indeed," Boromir agreed. "Gandalf would not have abandoned us at such a time without a plan. We will hope yet."

Hina smiled at the man. Yes, hope—a thing so easily forgotten and so easily regained. She was glad Boromir had found it again. It was as if Aragorn's very existence had given him back some form of hope now that he approved of him as future King. He no doubt could taste the change in the air of some greater destiny, and it had changed his previously fatalistic disposition entirely. Hina was more than glad she was here to have seen him saved, if only to see him stand tall like this. It only felt right for such a strong man like him.

"You are right," Legolas sighed. "Come, there are still some preparations to be had."

"Hai, war is no fun and all work," Hina agreed.

Hina tied back on her own armour and put on her person the remainder of all her traditional weaponry, and even the large shuriken and string she only pulled out when absolutely necessary. She hadn't used said weapon in a long time, but it was always good in a large-scale battle, especially when used with a modicum of strategy. It could be used to confuse and scare, as well as bring upon the enemy a sudden and very quick death. She admitted she got most of her ideas from Kushimaru. The lanky Swordsman of the Mist had become a dear demented friend of hers, although his actions had hurt Guy deeply. She could not fault him for listening to orders or for killing an enemy Shinobi, even if that enemy was Guy's father. That was the nature of their work. She had killed many fathers, sons, mothers, daughters, and lovers on orders.

Still, as she looked at the frightened children in all respects around her, she was reminded once again of the differences of their worlds. These were civilians, not Shinobi. They had not yet been tested in the blood of war or had their taste of death by steel.

"It's ok to be afraid," she told the boy next to her, who was startled out of his no doubt fatalistic thoughts. "Fear is a good way to keep you on your toes and to keep you alive. But you should never freeze in fear, only use that fear to keep yourself aware."

To his credit the boy didn't ask her how exactly she knew of such things. Her green hair and odd features had already established her as an easily identifiable member of the odd group that came to their aid, and she had already proven herself in battle to them.

"But I have no experience in war. I fear I will die even if my fear keeps me on my toes," the boy said with trembling lips.

"I feel you there. I had the same thoughts the first time I went off to war and yet here I am alive and well," Hina replied with a grin. "Find someone here to watch your back, hopefully someone with some experience, and hold cover for them when they need it. Don't charge in recklessly, instead aid where you can, how you can. That's the only advice I can give you. In war you are not alone, you have a team and people by your side. Work with them and your chance for survival will increase."

The boy nodded and he gave her a tentative smile for the first time since their conversation. He looked a little less like he was going to puke now, as if he had a goal in mind to achieve. That was always good. It was when you had nothing to do but wait for the inevitable that you lost the will to continue. Now he had himself some tasks to achieve.

"I don't suppose I'll be able to watch your back fair Lady?" he asked.

"Fair Lady?" Hina asked both in shock and amusement. She flicked her hair dramatically and grinned. "Oh yes I am fair. Prettier than most Elves wouldn't you say."

She was glad she had made him laugh. The sound of his laughter drew wary eyes in their direction, but the face of a laughing child always had a way to lighten the heart, and Hina could see the men relax slightly at the sight. One good thing in a sea of terrible events was always welcome.

"Yes, you are. The most beautiful thing I've seen in these terrible days," he replied honestly, a little wryly too.

Hina hadn't expected the genuine compliment and felt her face flush in embarrassment as she looked away. She had only joked about being as pretty as an Elf. She was pretty sure she wasn't, but to have someone tell her she was, made her confidence falter and boost at the same time. Kami, she did not know how to take compliments on her looks. It was easy to laugh off compliments on her talents with an easy joke, but her looks—oh that brought out a shy side of her that she wanted to keep hidden away.

"Ha! You sly talker," she replied back with an embarrassed chuckle. "Keep your silver tongue for after the war and then we might celebrate together."

"Haleth son of Hama," he introduced himself. "You saved my father from a Warg."

"Oh! Then you have someone to fight besides," Hina reminded him.

He nodded determinedly. "Then I will see you again, fair lady, and we will celebrate once this is over."

Hina had a feeling this shy blushing boy had somehow actually fallen for her. She didn't regret talking to him, although she did wonder why she managed to always get a bunch of children crushing after her. First Guy and now Haleth. She supposed she should be flattered, although she didn't really want anyone chasing after her when she didn't have a heart to give away. It would just make them sad… but they were children and childhood crushes changed with the season, so it didn't bother her too much.

"I look forward to it, Haleth son of Hama."

She left him with a quick incline of the head, and she hoped beyond all hope that she would in fact see him past this war. It had been a while since she'd talked to anyone her physical age, and she had enjoyed it a great deal. She was a child at heart and soul despite her adult mind. It had been a while since she had come to realise the conflicting nature of her mind and soul, and that one had already matured to adulthood while the other hadn't. She was both a child and an adult all at once, and while that would be confusing at first thought, she had come to accept the dichotomy between her mind and spirit. In a few years it would balance out and there would be no need for any confusion at all.

She made her way towards the higher ranked armoury and noticed Legolas had made up with Aragorn. She was glad. The Elf was right to worry of course, but Aragorn couldn't and wouldn't leave these people to their doom.

"If we had more time, I'd get this adjusted," Gimli said as he dropped the bundle of chain mail that landed with a loud clunk with its length hitting the floor. "It's a little tight across the chest."

Hina let out a snort and the three men bit back their smiles of amusement better than she did. Gimli glared at her loss of composure, but their attention turned away from him when a horn sounded in the distance.

"That is no Orc horn!" Legolas exclaimed as he ran up the stairway.

Hina followed him out towards the battlements and when she looked down, she was surprised to see an army of Elven archers. They were indeed a sight to see after seeing the downtrodden forces of the humans, they looked extremely professional and organised in contrast. At their appearance both Legolas and Aragorn rushed down to greet the welcome sight. Hina, Boromir, and Gimli followed at a much less eager pace behind the two.

The fanfare for the Elves return was a definite boost to morale. Hina could see the humans' look of relief as more experienced fighters began ordering themselves by the walls ready to fight. Hina herself was a little relieved too. She didn't know these humans too well, but for once there was a clear good guy and bad guy in battle, and that made the loss of any life feel all the more devastating. She knew people would die regardless of whether the Elves offered their help, but even then, it felt like a single life spared was worth it.

Hina took her place by Legolas and Gimli. Boromir had been positioned on the East end and he didn't need help directing some of the forces. Hina however felt much better next to Gimli and Legolas, who she'd learnt to fight alongside. Plus she was sure Aragorn would be coming by here soon enough, and she could see Haleth close by. She wanted to make sure he'd make it through the night now.

"We could have picked a better spot," Gimli groused, to which Hina mildly accepted.

While she was taller than the Dwarf, it wasn't by much. She was only 4'7 and it had been a while since she'd taken her artificial growth hormones, so she hadn't grown an inch since coming here. Orochimaru would 'fix' that the moment she came back. He had been moulding her into the perfect body after all… although she figured she was the prototype for what he intended to do once he got the perfect vassal.

"Well lad, whatever luck you live by, let's hope it lasts the night," Gimli said to Aragorn,

Hina turned to see the flood of Uruk-hai in the distance. They were lit in all their intimidating glory by the sparks of lightning that thundered through the sky. As if the heavens were mourning for the losses to come, rain dropped down into the wetlands below. Hina was just grateful she'd made her seals waterproof.

"Your friends are with you, Aragorn," Legolas told the man on behalf of the Fellowship.

"Let's hope they last the night," Gimli muttered.

"Stick by me and you will," Hina grinned.

"Ever the battle optimist aren't you," Gimli retorted with a smile of his own.

Hina only replied with a smile as the Orcs came marching up to them at an ever-increasing pace. She pulled out her trigger tags and waited with patience. She would explode the tags at the end first, and then once they eventually started to overwhelm near the entrance then she would trigger the tags closest to the walls. It would give them the time to recuperate. She was waiting for the order of the archers to begin her own assault. It came not ten minutes in. She heard Aragorn's almost Kingly voice from behind the men.

"A Eruchîn, ú-dano i faelas a hyn an uben tanatha le faelas! (Show them no mercy! For you shall receive none!)"

She had no idea what he was saying, but she didn't need to know to feel the strength behind his voice. He was spurring them on. The opposite was happening with the Uruk-hai. Their leader stopped mid-way and let out a terrible roar as the army came to a halt.

"What's happening out there?" Gimli asked.

"Shall I describe it to you? Or would you like me to find you a box?" Legolas grins down at him.

To Hina's surprise Gimli laughs heartily at that with no offence taken. She laughed as well, feeling almost like she was back in a three-man cell again.

"Not to worry Gimli-san, I can tell you. The Uruk-hai have stopped. The battle is to start soon," Hina said in anticipation.

The Uruk-hai began banging their spears to the ground in unison, grunts and snorts roaring into the army's silence. Hina supposes it's an intimidating sight. They're beginning with a nice dose of fear. She grins at the thought of directing killing intent their way. She had a lot of that in spades. Genin usually fell from the feeling alone sometimes. She just really enjoyed killing people sometimes… although she didn't want to admit it. The archers around her held out their bows in preparation. Hina grabbed her trigger tags eagerly. She knows someone will eventually snap and fire the first arrow and it soon happens.

The Uruk-hai stop their banging and then start growling in anger. The leader holds out his sword and screams and then the battle begins.

"Dartho! (Hold)," Aragorn ordered until the time comes to fire. "Tangado halad! (Prepare to fire!)"

The Elves notched their arrows and aimed down.

"Faeg i-varv dîn na lanc a nu ranc," Legolas shouted.

"Human speak please," Hina grumbled at Legolas.

"Their armour is weak at the neck and beneath the arms," he repeated, this time in Westron.

"Leithio i philinn! (Release the arrows!)" Aragorn shouted.

Hundreds of Uruk-hai were shot down in a single sweep but they continued on tirelessly. Hina waited, her fingers itching on the tag. One more second. One more… and then she activated it.

A loud chain of explosions ring across the fields as her tags utterly decimate whole ranks up the front. In the silence of shock at the explosions raining Orc body parts, her laugh almost echoed through the ranks, sending a chill down even the Uruk-hai's spines. Hina made to cackle like a mad man before she realised that even her enchanted omamori isn't enough to keep away such intense bloodlust from her. This wasn't the worlds influence. This was entirely her.

While the Orcs were disoriented for a second, one explosion wasn't enough to keep them grounded and they charged again. Hina struggled to wait until after the next volley of arrows before she activated the other 30 tags. The Uruk-hai scattered uncertainly at this invisible explosive enemy and in that moment Hina knew that they to feared death. It was a satisfying find, because it was an emotion she could use. They continue despite the chaos in their ranks, and one by one she activated the furthest explosive tags. The disarray she had put the orcs under kept them at bay for the next thirty minutes. But despite her terrifying show of power, hundreds upon hundreds more took the fallen places, and Hina realised she could only do so much in an already loosing battle. Maybe more could have been done if there were a hundred Shinobi to fight, but she was only one person.

"Remind me to get you more paper lass," Gimli said after she activated the last tags to the back..

"Oh I feel like there's not going to be much fun for longer. Once they pull in the ladders, I'll activate the front-line explosives. After that we still have an army of at least 5000 to battle with…" Hina turned to the mismatched horror of farmers and village boys and grimaced.

If she screwed this up, she was going to cost more than a handful of lives. Everything depended on timing and her being able to calculate the distance from eye. She had made sure to know around where she had dug the seals, but it was hard to see even with her night vision when a hoard of dead Uruk-hai and countless more living ones were rushing in on top of her tags.

"Hold Hina!" Aragorn told her as he came by.

Hina waited, wetting her lips in anticipation, and waiting for his orders now. She was glad that he came by, with his sure-footed nature. Then to his credit he screamed 'Now!' in the exact moment she had predicted would be best to channel her chakra. She activated the trigger and two of the ladders exploded while mid-air, sending them flying back into the ranks below. She shouted in glee.

"All the tags are activated," she informed Aragorn.

He slapped her back with an almost proud expression. "Now fall back Hina."

Hina gaped up at him with a scowl. "No way! Let them come!"

"Aye the lass is in good hands Aragorn!" Gimli agreed.

"Leave her with us," Legolas nodded.

Hina turned to see Aragorn hesitate, but he eventually nodded and then with a squeeze of her shoulder ran back to order his troops. Gimli rolled his shoulder and gripped his axe, while Legolas notched his bow. Hina took out the large shuriken on her back and laughed in anticipation.

"You suckers are going to be beat," she proclaimed cockily to her two teammates.

"We'll see yet!" Gimli grumbled as he embedded his axe in the head of an oncoming Uruk-hai. "One!"

Hina threw her Fūma Shuriken, strengthening it with chakra to cut through three Uruk-hai at once. With a quick pull of the near invisible chakra string back, it came back to her as she spun it around like a circular saw while she weaved beneath blows and cuts through any Orc brave enough to draw close to her. She dismembered a string of lost limbs and appendages in her wake, splatter of dark Orcish blood drenching her as she charged relentlessly.

"Twelve!" she shouted back as she killed another one.

"Now that's just showing off," Gimli grunted.

"There's time yet!" Legolas added in from behind the Dwarf as he let go of three arrows at once, all hitting their targets in the eye.

"Now who's showing off?" Hina grumbled.

"I will have no pointy ear outscoring me!" Gimli shouted in anger as he swung his axe straight into an Uruk-hai's balls.

Hina winced in sympathy for the poor twisted creature before she pulled her Fūma Shuriken back to her side. There were too many allies close by now to use it to its full effect, so she put it on her back before pulling out her kunai and jumping on the top of an Orc, wrapping her thighs around his head, and cracking it swiftly.

"Nineteen!" Legolas shouted.

"Twenty!" Hina replied petulantly as she threw a smaller shuriken into the eye of an Orc.

They continued on into the slaughter for another good five minutes before the Earth shook under her feet and Hina saw Haleth in the middle of the area of impact. She'd felt the tremor of shock before an explosion, and she could feel it in slow motion. Without a moment's thought she activated her Wind Walker technique and in a gust of wind grabbed the boy and made it to the other side of the wall before the explosion took place. She stumbled mildly as she landed with the explosion to her back and found herself sprawled on top of the teen.

"Fair Lady!"

"Hina—" she groused weakly.

"You saved me," he mumbled.

"No time for thankyou's Haleth-kun. On your feet," she ordered, pulling him up before she grabbed the arm of an Orc to the left, twisting it behind his back before breaking the arm and then slamming the heel of her boots into his skull.

"Stay behind me Haleth-kun. Your promise hasn't been fulfilled yet," she said with a grin.

"Yes, my Lady!"

"Hina!"

"Hina!" he corrected.

"Come Haleth-kun, Aragorn needs our help!"

She grabbed the boy by his waist before jumping off in great height to where Aragorn lay from the blast. She dropped Haleth by the Elven warriors where she knew he would be safer and then she rushed to where Gimli was now fighting. Hina grabbed her Fūma Shuriken and began spinning it around like one would a rather large and deadly nun chuck. She cut through the many enemies in front of her, throwing and twisting the spinning wheel blade around with great dexterity.

To her surprise Aragorn brought out her shuriken tags, the ones she had gifted him in Bree and then he shouted orders to the Elven archers behind him. She ducked as a volley of arrows hit the Uruk-hai breaching the wall. Then when she got up next the army behind her was exploding limbs and she whooped in glee.

"That's how you do it Aragorn-san!" she said happily as he used her tags.

"Eyes on the field Hina," he chided as he cut down an Orc behind her.

"Of course!"

Hina put away her Fūma Shuriken and pulled out her Elven blade as her allies came too close for her to use more devastating attacks. She didn't want to resort to Ninjutsu now as she knew this battle would last a long while—a lot longer than the quick and brutal battles the Shinobi often fought. So she went on in front of Haleth, protecting the boy as best as she could as she devastated the Uruk-hai ranks with her indomitable speed. But she soon began to slow down, as Saruman's army seemed almost endless as they flooded the area. Besides her Legolas had even resorted to using his blades, and Gimli was struggling to keep notice of all his sides.

"ARAGORN!" Théoden's voice booms from above. "FALL BACK TO THE KEEP! GET YOUR MEN OUT OF THERE!"

"Na Barad! Na Baraad! Haldir, na Barad! (To the Keep! Pull back to the Keep! Haldir, to the Keep!)" Aragorn shouted.

"What are you doing? Argh! What are you stopping for!" Gimli grumbled as he was grabbed by Legolas and pulled away.

Hina grabbed Haleth up by his arms, the boy having fallen down sometime during the attack. It was hard for her to keep track. She watched as the Elf commander nodded and turned back, only to find himself cut down mid-order.

"HALDIR!" Aragorn shouted as he ran up to Elf commanders' side.

Hina cursed as she saw Aragorn kneel down so vulnerably in the middle of the battlefield. She urged Haleth forward. She needed to watch Aragorn's back for now.

"Go now, Haleth-kun! I'll be right back!"

"But my Lady!"

"Don't Lady me! Go NOW!" Hina shouted as she ran to Aragorn's side.

Hina grabbed an arrow that would have otherwise hit the man and cut down another as Aragorn stood up and with a shout of anger. He lunged his sword to the side, cutting down an Orc, but was soon overrun on either end. Hina caught him by the arm and used the body flicker technique to get him behind the gate. Aragorn lurched forward at the intense speed of the action but to his credit was quickly pushed out of his awe and back into battle mode.

They ran towards the gates where a group of men were struggling to hold the orcs back. Hina grimaced as she realised what she's probably going to do next.

"Hold them!" Théoden shouts.

"How long do you need?" Aragorn asked quickly.

"As long as you can give me!" Théoden replied as he made his retreat.

"Gimli! Hina! To me!" Aragorn ordered.

"I'll do you one better Aragorn-san!"

"Hina wait!"

But she didn't wait. With the nimble speed of a Shinobi she jumped on the men's heads before she made one big, almost impossible to the average Middle-earth man's leap, up over the wall and down onto the forces of Uruk-hai beneath her. Hina held out a single hand as she concentrated on using a jutsu with just three fingers. Her other hand grabbed at her Fūma Shuriken as she began spinning it for momentum.

"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!" she shouted, before she blew the hottest blue dragon fire she could out of her mouth, encasing it with wind release to make it almost all encompassing at the enemies in front of her.

Almost at once hundreds of Uruk-hai were caught in the twisting line of the giant fire-dragon as it ate its way across the bridge, leaving only burning bodies in its wake. Then she began her dance of the subtle breeze style as she twisted and twirled around the burning orcs with her spinning Fūma shuriken.

"You fight a Shinobi!" she shouted, adrenaline pumping her gleeful expression, as she continued to cut down bodies and increased her chakra consumption.

Hina pushed forward despite her growing tiredness. There were shouts of cheers behind her encouraging her to preserver but her Shuriken got caught in the ground and she pulled at it back and in her tiredness, it refused to come to her. Only Aragorn's blade stopped her from being cut down where she stood. The metal clashed in front of her face where a blade had intended to hit. Then he was in front of her taking on the army himself with the grace of a legendary swordsman. Hina pulled the lodged Fūma Shurkien from the ground, urged on by Aragorn and Gimli's presence. They fought for what seemed like another hour but was probably only a few dozen minutes until Théoden finally ordered them back.

"Hina, Gimli, Aragorn! Get out of there!" Théoden ordered.

"Aragorn!" Legolas shouted from the walls, holding up a rope.

Hina ran up the length of the wall before helping him with the rope, pulling it up with both Aragorn and Gimli at its tip. Once she pulled the two warriors up Hina heard a call for retreat and looked down in horror at the still endless horde beneath them. Legolas pulled her away and she was ripped from a moment of shock as they rushed into the last gate. The final stronghold.

Hina almost collapsed from exhaustion. She had almost depleted her chakra. She reluctantly palmed her last chakra pill and after a moment's hesitation swallowed it. It only took a minute for the energy to jolt her stiff bones back into a nervous buzz. A hand to her shoulder in that moment almost startled her into an attack, but when she turned around it was to a feeling of relief.

"Boromir!" she exclaimed as she pulled him into an embrace.

He hugged her back and managed a relieved laugh too. They pulled away almost immediately at the sound of heavy bodies thudding into the door frame. There wasn't even a moment to waste on small victories. Legolas rushed in with a shield as men held back the structure.

"The fortress is taken. It is over," Théoden lamented.

"You said this fortress would never fall while your men defend it! They still defend it! They have died defending it!" Aragorn shouted as he stopped in his step from helping barricade the doors.

"They are breaking in!" a woman cried out in horror.

"Is there no other way for the women and children to get out of the caves? Is there no other way?" Aragorn asked desperately.

"There is one passage. It leads into the mountains. But they will not get far. The Uruk-hai are too many," Gamling replied defeatedly.

"Send word for the women and children to make for the mountain pass. And barricade the entrance," Aragorn ordered.

Despite the action in which the men around him took too quickly, the King turned around with horror and defeat in his posture. He stood still as he looked at the door being beaten against, thinking that all was lost.

"So much death. What can men do against such reckless hate?" Théoden asked, weariness set on his brow.

"We can't just give up and die!" Hina shouted angrily, entirely losing her patience with this man. She stood her case from earlier. It would have worked out in their favour if she just assassinated this useless King and kidnapped Éomer to fulfill the role. Unfortunately for her, she was surrounded by bleeding hearts, and Aragorn the chieftain of such kindness was eager to bring hope again to the hopeless king.

"Ride out with me. Ride out and meet them!" Aragorn urged.

"Aye, we are men who will face the end with honour," Boromir agreed as he brandished his sword.

Against the words of such courage the King managed to find some determination of his own. He stood a little straighter and nodded to himself as if to break away from the bleakness that had nearly overtaken him entirely.

"For death and glory," he said.

"For Rohan. For your people," Aragorn disagreed gently.

"The sun is rising!"

Gimli's exclamation made Hina look up to the window where tendrils of light were beginning to shine through. She wondered why it's such an amazing thing. The Uruk-hai weren't like normal Orcs. They didn't fear the sun, nor did it make them tremble weakly. What would sunrise do for them now?

"Yes. Yes! The horn of Helm Hammerhand shall sound in the deep one last time!" Théoden exclaimed determinedly.

"Yes!" Gimli agreed happily as he ran up the stars towards the horn of the Helm Hammerhand. Hina really didn't understand Gimli's excitement either. The horn was meant to mark the final stand. It wasn't exactly something to celebrate. Then again she thought like a Shinobi, not a Warrior.

"Let this be the hour when we draw swords together. Fell deeds awake. Now for wrath! Now for ruin! And a red dawn!"

Hina jumped behind on Boromir's mount as they charged towards a certain doom with the horn's tremendous call in the backdrop. She wondered how the heck she had managed to find her doom on some other planet away from her own. She didn't want to die, but she knew in her heart that this would be a good death if any, in the midst of people she respected and trusted with her life. She'd always imagined dying alone and among the enemies she had pretended to call allies. This was a better fate than that.

"FORTH EORLINGAS!" Théoden shouted.

And as they rode through the horde of Uruk-hai, she let out a growl and pushed out her killing intent, making the Orcs scream and shout as she stabbed them down the narrow bridge.

Hina heard the name 'Gandalf' from Aragorn's mouth and her eyes turned towards the sun in realisation. Then almost as if descending from the heavens itself, Gandalf comes down the mountain bringing with him light and hope. Hina had begun to almost associate the man with that word. And she watches in awe as all the Uruk-hai around her rush off to join the next battle, and a sea of horses rush down on them. Gandalf's sheer brightness disoriented them as they clashed, and it was like watching water wash away filth, as the hordes of Orcs were cut down by a sea of charging men on horses.

"Victory!" Théoden cries in joy.

And what a victory it was. The most satisfying victory she had ever experienced.

A/N

Hey all it's been a while. I haven't given up on this story or any of my other ones. I've just had a very hard and busy year. Life threw more than a few curve balls at me. Now I'm playing this game on hard mode. Covids done that to a lot of people so I can't complain, but its drained me to the point where I've gone weeks without writing or drawing, two things that I basically live and breathe for. And this story and Snap Back, take a lot of effort to write, edit and post, so it's been on a kind of back burner until I have the time and energy to do it justice.

I just want to say Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! I might not post again until next year. At this stage I have no idea when I will, but I'll endeavour to not ghost this story for months on end again. Thanks for everyone's patience and wishing you the best in this holiday season :))